Gun kindergartner took to school fires, injuring 3

A police officer monitors an entrance at Houston’s Ross Elementary School on Tuesday after three students were injured when a gun fell from a kindergartner’s pocket.

A kindergartner who brought a loaded gun to his Houston elementary school Tuesday was among three students injured by fragments when it fired after falling from his pocket as he sat down for lunch, officials said.

HOUSTON — A kindergartner who brought a loaded gun to his Houston elementary school on Tuesday was among three students injured by fragments when it fired after falling from his pocket as he sat down for lunch, officials said.

One bullet was fired about 10:35 a.m. in the Ross Elementary School cafeteria, spraying fragments at the students, said Assistant Police Chief Robert Mock of the Houston Independent School District.

“Either some type of chips off the floor, or it could be pieces of the round that discharged,” and hit the children, Mock said. None of the wounds was life-threatening, he said.

Kennedi Glapion, 6, who was being picked up from school by her grandmother, said she saw the gun after it fell under a cafeteria table.

“It dropped on the floor, under the table. It was loud; it was so loud,” said the kindergartner, who added that after the gun went off she was scared and started crying.

Kennedi also said she saw one of the children who was injured and pointed to her right foot to indicate where the child was injured.

Two 6-year-old boys were wounded, including the one who had the gun. The boy who brought the gun suffered a foot injury, and the other boy was grazed in one leg, said Sam Sarabia, the elementary chief school officer for the Houston school district. A 5-year-old girl was injured in a knee, he said.

All three children were checked out at a hospital.

Houston police spokesman Victor Senties said it was too early in the investigation to say whether charges would be filed.

School-district spokesman Norm Uhl said the kindergartner could face disciplinary action, including being sent to an alternative school for up to 180 days.

Some parents wondered if additional security measures, including extra officers and even metal detectors, are needed at the school.

“Being that this is an elementary school, you would think that it would be safe, but now this makes you think nothing is safe,” said Shawn Dixon, 33, whose child Tyra is in third grade at the school.

Dixon said he would be in favor of additional security measures, such as metal detectors.